Hey Ariel, I have been all over that link you provided and that stuff looks really good. Depending on what the vet says tomorrow I may order some. I didn't see anywhere on that site which said you would ever stop giving him the stuff....did you stop using it after you saw that Stitch was back to his old self or do you continue using the Synflex?? Thanks again!

I had a similar problem with my last dog- and when I took him to the vet I was told it was "long bone disease"- and it was normal on large breeds. I don't know if that helps- let us know what the specialist tells you- I am curious now

it could also be pano, my GSD had it at 9 months old, she would walk around on 3 legs after getting up and stuff. i had her xrayed and it was pano and Hip displasia. i give all the dogs here glucosomine for pets, you can find it at www.puritan.com my 9 year old rotti had bad HD and arthritis, well being on the gluco pills for over a year now, and he is like a puppy again, so much so he taught himself to jump over my deck fence and go racing in the woods after the animals.

what specialist are you going to Brad? try Fair LAwn Animal Hospital and see Dr. Riskin, he is a very very good vet.

jack could have torn a ligament too, and might need ACL surgery its that bad., but the recovery is 99% great.

Actually it was Oradell Animal Hospital... My sister in law who is a pharmacist went with Sarah and I stayed home trying to complete fencing in our yard (I felt bad about not going but I got lots of stuff goin on and wanted to finish this project and they are totally capable)..I'm told Jack was a perfect gentleman in the waiting room where there was a rott that clearly was not trained very well-jumping up on the counter and such. He sat patiently in the waiting room for about a forty-five minutes and let the doctor prod and poke him for about 40 minutes. I hear he is quite the ladies man I wrote down all the information and suggestions you all provided and Sarah asked all the pertinent questions and the vet was an older guy who was very matter of fact and listened patiently but was obviously not changing his diagnosis- she said he seemed to know his stuff though. Anyway he said it wasn’t necessary to take x-rays yet cause that would just cost us about 900 bills (which was cool) and he determined from all his prodding, our description and the way Jack chose to sit (after 30 minutes when he became comfortable) that it was probably something concerning his left ankle called OCD….he ruled out all the worst case scenarios (thank god ) and gave us a prescription of Rimadyl 75mg tablets which we are to give him for 3 days starting tomorrow. We are to call him next Monday to let him know if the situation has improved, we should know definitely by then. We would like to thank you all for your kind words and suggestions. If the problem persists I will be sure to let you all know. Thanks again! You guys are awesome!

I'm curious as to why he thinks it's OCD without having seen an x-ray. That's definately within the realm of possibility and a physical exam can rule out luxating patellas, torn cruciate's etc. So don't take that wrong, I'm truly curious.

Yeah turtle that was the first thing I did after posting last night....I read some bad stories concerning that med too which was disturbing. I am only giving it for 3 days and will be watching him closely and reposting once he's finished the prescribed amount. Thanks

pocketpit wrote:I'm curious as to why he thinks it's OCD without having seen an x-ray. That's definately within the realm of possibility and a physical exam can rule out luxating patellas, torn cruciate's etc. So don't take that wrong, I'm truly curious.

Yeah I understand what you are saying but when it comes right down to it was a cost thing He offered to take x-rays but he said from his examination he was fairy certain it was OCD and he said he would take the x-rays but didn't feel comfortable with charging us 900 dollars when he didn't think it was necessary. He said to try Rimadyl and if i noticed an improvement than that was it...if for some reason he vomits, loses interest in food or is lethargic to stop use of the drug and there would be no lasting side effects.

i have been thinking about what you have said turtle and appreciate your opinion but every drug has the potential to have side effects and i just want my guy to be happy.

Heartworm treatment medications cause death in 1 to 2% of patients- a far greater risk than most medications, but when the effects of not treating for heartworms are considered, this seems like a small risk. So these are the decisions we have to make.

I'm fairly confident that he will be fine as the talk about Rimadyl and the side effects is mainly geared towards Labs.

Isn't $900 really expensive for x-rays? Buster has arthritis in his lumbar and when we had xrays to determine that it only cost around $100 total for everything. Maybe different body parts are more expensive to xray?

Just a thought but if OCD is a type of arthritis why wouldn't the vet recommend some sort of glucosomine supplement?